Woodburn: A letter to Piper Bloom Kastor

We have not yet met, though I am looking forward to doing so over the holidays when you and your parents — Andrew and Deena Kastor — are in town. You are only 7 months old as I write this, but already your mommy tells me you are reading "Goodnight Moon" by yourself and she is probably barely exaggerating.

A feat only slightly less impossible would be for a woman to run a marathon in 2 hours, 19 minutes, 36 seconds — which your mom did in winning the 2006 London Marathon to set an American record that still stands five years later.

Well, it did until a few weeks ago when Joan Benoit Samuelson replaced your mom in the record book which is amazing because Joan is 54 years old. More remarkable, she erased your mom's marathon mark with a time of 2:24:52 in the 1984 Olympics.

By the time you are in first grade, Piper, you will have enough grasp of math to understand the "new" U.S. record is 5 minutes, 16 seconds slower than your mom's best time. Unfortunately, the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) that serves as track and field's world governing body lacks common math skills — and common sense.

Here is how wrongheaded the IAAF is: In addition to striking your mom's previously sanctioned American record, it has ruled Paula Radcliffe's historic clocking of 2:15:25 in the 2003 London Marathon is no longer the world record. Instead, the new recognized record is the 2:17:42 that Radcliffe ran in 2005 on the same course with a head start over the men entrants.

As you will too soon learn, Piper, adults don't always make much sense. The IAAF has now decided that having a male runner at a woman's side is a performance-enhancing substance. And, yet, it is still fine and fair — and common — for men marathoners to have male pacesetters.

To change the rules retroactively for women is insanely unjust. After all, your mom, Radcliffe, and others could have chosen different races to make their record attempts if the No Men Allowed rule had been in place.

Your mom — "The Pride of Agoura High" — didn't even request any male escorts, telling me: "When I had two men leading me to my American record, they were assigned to the lead women (whoever that would be) by the race organizers and neither of them were wearing watches. One dropped out of the race and the other was puking so badly with 5K to go, I gave him my water bottle."

If their help was debatable, there is no question this retroactive ruling is hurtful. It would be like taking away Jack Nicklaus' record sixth Masters title because the grooves on his sand wedge wouldn't be legal today, or erasing one of Pete Sampras' Wimbledon titles because of the gut strings in his rackets.

As always, Piper, your mom has responded with nothing but class. It reminds me of when she suffered a broken bone in her right foot three miles into the 2008 Olympic marathon — entering with high hopes after epically earning the bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics — and had to drop out. Despite her great disappointment she exhibited uncommon grace and character. She didn't stand on the podium, but nonetheless she stood tall as a champion.

While she is just "Mom" to you, Piper, to the rest of the sports world she is a rare superstar who also is a worthy role model. Just one small example of your mom's kindness is how, when competing internationally, she gives running shoes and clothes to hotel staff to take home to their families.

"I feel passionate about this new rule and hope the negative attention it is receiving will have our governing body rethink this decision," your mom told me, Piper. But here is something more important she shared: "Piper gives us so much joy that little else can compare or deflate the opportunity we have been given of raising a child."

In other words, Piper Bloom Kastor, your mom knows her most important "marathon" has just begun — as the pacesetter by your side.